Hitch Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Would you buy makeup from Wolverine? Hugh Jackman wants to sell beauty products, and 20th Century Fox has obliged, according to Variety, buying a comedy pitch titled Avon Man as a star vehicle for the actor. It's the latest in a string of possible projects for him.

Jackman last exercised his funny bone with Woody Allen's Scoop in 2006; before that, you'd have to rewind all the way to Kate and Leopold in 2001 for a straight comic effort. Of course, even in his dramatic roles he's always got a wisecrack or quip at the ready, and his recent stint hosting the Academy Awards no doubt boosted his comedy credentials. If Avon Man develops as it was pitched, it would be a sweet-smelling, fully-clothed Full Monty. Jackman would play a laid-off car salesman who is recruited to become an Avon rep: "While the experience is initially emasculating," [really?] "he uses his charm and good looks to become a top seller ... [and] sets out to save his financially strapped family and town by conscripting his buddies into the makeup business to win a regional contest."

No doubt there will be mocking of -- while at the same time celebrating -- traditional masculinity and femininity, similar to Hitch, which was also written by Kevin Bisch, the successful pitcher. It's at least a couple of years away, but I'd like to see Jackman as a down-on-his-luck family man rallying his macho comrades. What do you think? Do the products fit the salesman?

A couple of years ago, you might remember a little romantic comedy called Hitch. It starred Will Smith as Alex Hitchens, "The Date Doctor." Simply enough, he'd coach men and help them get dates with women. Of course, in typical romcom form, while he tries to help another guy get the girl, he gets a jolt from the love bug and struggles with it himself. It's nothing new, but it has romance and Will Smith, so of course, the movie did well. Now it seems that Smith wants to make it a television show.

Reuters reports that he is developing a sitcom based on the film, but only to produce, not to star in. It's one of a few shows his company, Overbrook Entertainment, has in development. Now if Smith was going to star, heading back to television ten years after his memorable sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, that would be cool. Instead, he's just going to put a dating show on television. Did he not catch Miss Match? The show might have gotten itself a Golden Globe nomination, but it went nowhere, even with Alicia Silverstone as its star. Granted, this is a sitcom and a little different, but if they're smart, they'll watch a bunch of those episodes and see what not to do. I'm not so sure about this, but what do you think? Is Hitch prime content for television? Or, will it fizzle away like Miss Match?

It seems like every actress these days either got her start as a model or scored an Estee Lauder/Noxema/Gap modeling contract after she hit it big in film. But when you think about it, there really aren't too many actresses who were actually well-known models before breaking into film or TV. Amber Valletta, star of not one but two new films out this week (Premonition and Dead Silence), is one such actress. She was a recognizable staple of women's fashion magazine covers, the star of Versace and Calvin Klein ad campaigns, and the host of MTV's House of Style long before landing the plum role of Harrison Ford's undead mistress in the 2000 hit What Lies Beneath. Since then, she's starred in a slew of films, including the Will Smith blockbuster Hitch and the action smash Transporter 2.

Of course, a symmetrical face, ample bosoms, sexy legs and perfectly formed buttocks do not necessarily equate to acting prowess -- so we decided to rank the success of runway walkers, Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, fashion mag goddesses and Victoria's Secret Angels who were first famous for modeling and only later broke into the movie biz. Check out our gallery of the Top 20 Models Turned Actors, then tell us how accurate our model-turned-actress-ranking skills are.

It's no surprise that relationship comedies are huge box office money-makers for Hollywood, assuming the right talent is attached. Now, folks at Lionsgate are looking to capitalize on the success of films like The Break-Up and Hitch by picking up The Escape Artist, a script written by newbies (and brothers) Jim and Brian Kehoe. It's an idea I've personally heard floating around for quite some time now, but it seems the Kehoe boys have produced the best product -- one that will hopefully attract a decent director and cast.

Here's how I assume the pitch was presented: Imagine yourself involved in a relationship that you desperately want to escape. For whatever reason, the thing isn't working and you need to find a way out ... fast. Only problem is, you're too much of a wimp to simply break-up with your significant other, and so you search for some much-needed help. Enter: The opposite of Hitch -- a consultant you hire to help with the break-up. Someone who gets paid to dissolve relationships. Of course, if this goes the Hitch route, expect our friendly consultant to have relationship problems of his (or her) own.

Todd Garner helped develop the project and will produce through his Broken Road Prods. Currently, there's no cast -- but, as always, that won't stop us from throwing out names. Assuming this escape artist is a guy, I like Robert Downey Jr. in the role. Hey, he was already a Pick-Up Artist, why not turn it around, add 20 years and make him a break-up artist? C'mon, you know you were thinking the same exact thing.

Note to self: Try not to scare people with your post titles. Okay, so Will Smith didn't exactly say he's "quitting acting," he just kind of mentioned that he's taking a break. According to Digital Spy, Smith would like to spend more time at home while his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, gets all jiggy with her band, Wicked Wisdom. Nice guy, huh?

"I'll probably work less so she can work a little more,"  Oh c'mon, so we get no Hitch 2? What's up with that Will? You'd think though, that with the success of Hitch, he'd feel his name still attracted the masses and would take on more work. Although he does have three movies in the works, so if that's "working less" than I suppose Will Smith fanatics should have nothing to worry about.

 

[via Movie Blog]